TheCable

Steve Ayorinde, former Lagos commissioner for tourism, will curate the 100 photos that will be showcased at the three-day exhibition organised to mark PUNCH’s 50th anniversary.

The Nigerian print and online media group is celebrating its 50th anniversary with a week-long activity which started on February 24.

In a statement on Monday, Ayorinde, who is a former editor of the Punch, said the exhibition will showcase 100 of the newspaper’s iconic photographs that tell the “rich history of Nigeria and her people”.

The event, which will take place at the Alliance Francaise de Lagos/Mike Adenuga Centre in Lagos, is expected to capture various snapshots of history published by the newspaper over the years.

Ayorinde said the exhibition will feature images of Wole Soyinka, the Nobel laureate; Fela Anikulapo-Kuti, the Afrobeat artist; Gani Fawehinmi, the human rights activist, and many other political and industry brokers.

“Between its birthplace where it spent 36 years and the Magboro permanent site, which is its befitting and edifying complex of the last 16 years, is where PUNCH Newspaper’s exhilarating journey through Nigeria of the last 50 years was nurtured,” the statement reads.

“For a good reason, both locations play an important role in telling the visually engaging story of this dominant quality newspaper, which is celebrating its 50 years of operation.

“At the centre of this collection are recurrent issues in Nigeria of the past half a century; the variegated emotions constantly on display showing on the one hand, the mood of the nation, and on the other hand, how PUNCH attaches importance to how they are captured.”

The weeklong activity will climax with a public lecture on Thursday, February 29 at the Civic Centre, Ozumba Mbadiwe Road, Victoria Island, Lagos.